Marie Antoinette was executed more than 200 years ago. This year alone has seen a major museum exhibition, a new animated film, an ongoing TV series and a new biography about her. Why can't we stop talking about Marie Antoinette? My latest podcast investigates: pod.link/1489560920/e...

Morning all. Photographer John Bulmer, Halifax 1965.

Gardening (Helping at Home, 1961) Artist: Harry Wingfield

Word of the Day is ‘tandsmør’, from Danish. It describes bread that is buttered so thickly you can see tooth marks in it after every bite. Its literal translation? ‘Tooth butter’.

I have made the difficult decision to get out of bed and open the shop. Hopefully you will support me in this tough time. We’ll be here to 5:30 today, tho I can’t guarantee we’ll be awake.

Outstanding photography here! From the Swiss Alps to a solar eclipse: the 2025 Bird Photographer of the Year – in pictures www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Eighty nine years ago today. We need always to stay vigilant about Fascism. #BattleOfCableStreet

🔥 Britain is about to launch a new GCSE in natural history – a vital step toward restoring our knowledge of and respect for the natural world.

Good morning, SundayPixies. For those of you considering getting out and about to look for shots, tomorrow's #SundayPix theme will be "Leaves". We'll use the hashtag #SundayPixLeaves

Later today, I'm going to tell you how a railroad accident in the early 19th century led to a brain tumor being removed decades later! What more could you hope for on a Saturday afternoon?

Are you exhausted by the world? Come take refuge in my weird and wonderful corner of #Bluesky - where I post medical history content that will make you happy to live in 2025! Medieval urine wheels! Opium toothpaste! Cemetery guns! I got it all. I love sharing my passion for this niche subject.

It’s certainly hoolying out there #StormAmy

Energy Secretary Ed Milliband brands Nigel Farage and his allies as: 'Investment-crushing, job-destroying, bill-raising, poverty-driving, science-denying, Putin-appeasing, young people betraying, bunch of ideological extremists’

We are saddened to hear of Dr. Jane Goodall's passing, and so honored to be among the organizations she worked closely with during her long and incredible career.

Here I am in 2020 in the flimsiest, most pitful PPE - like so many other NHS staff, some of whom died from the Covid they caught in their hospitals. Tory peer Michelle Mone - who today lost her legal case & must repay the govt £122m - dares to claim she’s been ‘scapegoated’. What, Michelle? 🧵

Looks like Michelle Mone is going to have to sell that yacht (from Feb 23)

👗 Fabric samples from Marie Antoinette’s court gowns (grand habits), 1784, preserved by her dame d’atour Geneviève d’Ossun Mme d’Ossun was charged with bringing the budget for the queen’s wardrobe into line following some seriously extravagant spending by her predecessor in the 1770s 👗

“I would gently point out to Nigel Farage that before we left the EU we had a returns agreement with every country in the EU. He told the country it would make no difference if we left. He was wrong about that. These are Farage boats in many senses coming across the channel” 👏 PM Keir Starmer

I remember being told that it would take 193 years to reach legal limits for nitrogen dioxide. I decided this was unacceptable. Thanks to the bold policies we put in place, we've managed to do it in nine years - 184 years earlier than expected.

At last Starmer has begun to attack both Farage & Reform. For once he has come across as a leader. Labour needed direction & a message of hope that could go out to the British electorate. We aren't gutless in the UK & we need to face the challenges that have arisen & overcome them. Let's be positive

When are we going to realise that people from foreign lands are not automatically our enemy… but the likes of Michelle Mone and her husband (and those millionaires and billionaires who are making money out of your misery and at your expense) are!

“An example of the town of the future is Coventry.... Traffic and pedestrians are kept apart and the roads are planned to let traffic flow smoothly” (Our Land in the Making, 1966) Artist: Ronald Lampitt

The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. Except it doesn’t bend on its own—it bends because we pull it in the direction of justice. What keeps me hopeful during times like these is being surrounded by people who are doing just that.

"Mākereti was a trailblazer... Her legacy as an inspiration to many people in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Māori community worldwide, and scholars and students internationally, continues to this day." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Got my performance review.

Citizen Smith - Only Fools and Horses (27th September 1979). Confining your regular characters within an enclosed space is a good sitcom ploy (even better if there's a decent guest star like Wilfrid Brambell added to the mix). And that episode title might be useful later on ....

I, Claudius - Waiting in the Wings (27th September 1976). 'Is there anyone in Rome who has not slept with my daughter?'

The Morecambe and Wise Show (27th September 1974). Andre Previn returns to the show.

This was so incredibly well played - a team for us all to be well and thoroughly proud of. 🐻

Massive thanks to @geofftech.bsky.social for designing this epic map of the journey! Definitly going to be getting one of these printed for my home!

Newcastle says no to fascism. The far right brought a hundred or so with them, bussed from far and wide. This city turned out 1000s, from local communities, estates and streets. Geordies of all backgrounds coming together and outnumbering the purveyors of hate by some distance. Newcastle united.

Fun fact: Reform UK has lost at least 22 Councillors and 2 MPs in 6 months.

Ladybird endpapers Bedtime Stories (1978) Artist: James Hodgson

Nathan Gill is no fringe politician. He was the leader of the Reform Party and before that UKIP in Wales. A Brexit Party MEP. A friend and ally of Nigel Farage, who in 2016 called him: "terrific," and "as honest as the day is long." This is a MASSIVE story www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Here's a film of his long, searing 1980s poem V. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu3Z...

Well that was a bit of a damp squib, wasn’t it? #TheRapture

A little mini rant-ette: His Majesty is visiting my town today to declare its status as a Royal Port. The sun is shining and he has been visiting various places in connection with our maritime history. 1/2

The system is designed to keep people out. And some immigrants who are legally in the country suddenly can find themselves illegally here through no fault of their own. Again, if you have Indefinite Leave to Remain and are eligible for citizenship - I would apply. It's the safest option.

And we’re off again! Everyone from Aciman to Zusak waits on our shelves for you to discover! - Michael

Delighted to have my poem ‘If’ published in this quarter’s Beyond Queer Words magazine. Hope you enjoy it. #poetry #PoetsOfBluesky #lgbtqia+ #QueerPoetry

You know what to do

THIS is what our country (and our county) is about. Not those hate-filled thugs on the streets yesterday, but everyday kindnesses, resilience, tolerance and love. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Positive story time! “Refugees from across the world have been lending their gardening skills and their muscles to Quakers in South Cumbria, helping to create biodiverse friendship gardens for both wildlife and visitors to enjoy.” www.quaker.org.uk/communities/...

Happy 4th anniversary to the time this happened on Twitter.

MA’AM YOU HAVE FORCED ME TO TAKE MATTERS INTO MY OWN HANDS. Photo from my collection, 1951.

Today on #BetwixtTheSheets, I am talking to the utterly marvellous Anthony Delaney about his BRAND NEW book #QueerGeorgians, in particular his reappraisal of the Chevalière d’Éon. Apologies to all speakers of French for my butchery of the language. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

IMPORTANT: foldy paws